What's Funny About A Knife
by Harley Quinn of Horror
Summary: Annabelle is the daughter of famed circus clowns Jack and Chance. This is her story as she grows up in the carnival life, leading up to her very first performance at Halloween Horror Nights. Based on characters created by Universal Studios for their annual Halloween Horror Nights event.


**(A/N: The only original characters in this story are Annabelle and Rosemary, both of which were created by my co-writer on this story. All others are property of Universal Studios and its annual Halloween Horror Nights event. I do not own them; I'm just borrowing them for a bit for this story. And since this story is based on a well know scary Halloween event, there will be graphic violence and profanity.)**

 _Setting: a carnival in late August of 2005 in Carey, Ohio_

Carey, Ohio had always been a quiet, run of the mill town in the Midwest. At least that was the image it wanted to project to the outside world. No one ever knew what really went on inside the town walls as it was also so secretive to anyone who was not a resident.

On occasion, however, it would open its doors to the outside world. Such was the case with the local carnival run by the infamous Jack the clown, his brother Eddie, Eddie's girlfriend Rosemary, and Jack's girlfriend Chance. All four were well known in the freak show world for their sadistic acts of torture. It was considered a grave mistake to cross paths with these so called sadists if you committed a heinous crime, especially against an innocent child. That was where the quartet would find most of their victims to take part in their shows. And their methods of acquiring said victims were often sneaky and devious.

Such was the case with their latest victim, Eric Adams. The young man arrived on the carnival grounds looking for a good time. However, it wasn't to ride the rides, eat cotton candy, or throw darts to win a stuffed bear. Eric had his own idea of "fun" in mind. He was actually a well-known pimp from a nearby town and often took advantage of town events to pick up his "girls". And the carnival seemed like the perfect spot to do so this evening.

"Man, am I going to get lucky tonight!" he whispered to himself while scanning the crowd of people.

So many women were milling about the carnival grounds. How Eric would select his first "girl", he had no idea. He knew she had to be pretty, sexy, and willing to accept any amount of money offered to her in exchange for "services". He would accept no less for his paying clients.

As he walked past the Ferris wheel and the balloon popping game, he made another sweeping look over the crowd. His eyes stopped and grew wide as he landed his gaze on her; the most beautiful, sexy woman he had ever seen. The long blonde pigtails, the tight and black leather leotard with black tutu, the black heeled boots. Even her garish looking clown makeup enhanced her gorgeous looks. Eric simply could not take his eyes off of her.

"Hey there, beautiful." he said as they locked eyes.

"Well hello, gorgeous." she replied with a finger motion for him to come over to her.

Eric had the biggest grin on his face as sauntered over to the lady and began running his fingers through one of her pigtails.

"I'm Eric, my love. And your name is…?"

"You can call me Tiffany."

Both giggled as they shared a quick kiss. Eric was now feeling more and more sure that Tiffany was going to be his lucky score for the night. He was so sure that he began reaching into his pocket for some cash.

"So, baby. Am I gonna get lucky tonight?" he asked.

Tiffany started to smirk as so Eric flashed a wad of ten dollar bills. Little did he know that he had just given her the evidence she needed to put her plan into action.

"Oh honey. I can't tell you that. But I know just the person who can."

With the same smirk on her face, Tiffany wrapped her arm around Eric's and began leading him through the crowd. Eric started to feel uneasy as they walked past the midway games and cotton candy stand. Maybe he shouldn't have come tonight.

He was snapped out of his thoughts by a sudden pinch on his arm and a sharp "Hey! Pay attention! We're here!"

He looked up to see a small purple and red tent in front of him. Above the beaded curtain entrance was an old and dilapidated sign that read "Madame Rosie's Fortunes: Know Your Future Now".

"A…fortune teller?" he asked quizzically.

"Oh yes. Madame Rosie is the best one in the business. Only ten dollars and hear your future."

Eric slowly walked towards the entrance of the tent but stopped just short of entering. He turned around and gave Tiffany a fearful look. Something in his mind was telling him not to go inside.

Tiffany was having none of it. She promptly marched over to Eric and firmly grabbed his neck and snarled in his ear.

"What did I say? Get in there…NOW!"

Eric jumped and bolted inside the tent. He leaned over onto his knees to catch his breath. That lady had definitely startled him. But what he heard next sent shivers down his spine.

"Darling, so good to see you. Please have a seat and hear your future."

The voice was of a spaced out sounding Indian lady. Eric slowly looked up to see a table covered in a purple satin cloth with three lit candles on it. He could also see the red manicured fingernails of the fortune teller's hands resting on the table. Her face was hidden in the shadows, which made him extremely uneasy.

"Uh, what? Who are you and why should I trust you?" he asked nervously.

"My darling, you know who I am. Please have a seat and I shall tell you everything you need to know."

With a sinking feeling in his stomach, Eric sat down in the empty chair in front of the table. Remembering what Tiffany had said about the fee, he quietly removed ten dollars from his pocket and placed it in the waiting hand of the fortune teller.

"Thank you, love. Now keep your feet flat on the floor, uncross your arms, and let your energy flow to me."

Eric sat in silence and as still as possible. He was quiet as he listened to the fortune teller humming to herself. He also noticed her pick up a deck of tarot cards and noisily shuffle them a few times.

"The cards, the cards. They will help tell your future."

Dead silence filled the room as the perfectly manicured fingers of the fortune teller slowly pulled three cards from the pile and laid them down one at a time. She made sure to lay them face down so Eric could not see them right away.

"These are your cards, sweetness. Now turn them over to see your fate."

Eric gulped upon hearing the word "fate." He really didn't like the sound of it. Still, he slowly reached over to the first tarot card and flipped it over. It revealed a yellow horned devil with two prisoners chained to his stone block.

Shaking now, Eric flipped over the next card to reveal a man hanging upside down from a tree. He gulped as he took the final card between his fingers, not wanting to see what design awaited him. The design on the other side absolutely horrified him. It was the Grim Reaper riding a white horse and carrying a white and black flag.

"So what does this mean? What's my future?" he asked in a panicked voice.

The fortune teller snickered evilly at Eric's question. She leaned forward out of the shadows and Eric finally got a glimpse at her face. What he saw absolutely terrified him. The fortune teller had jet black hair and the iciest blue eyes he had ever seen. What made it even more terrifying was the slight cloudiness over her eyes, indicating she was blind.

With a sinister grin on her face, she leaned right up to Eric's face and snarled "You are never going to get lucky again!"

Absolutely frightened, Eric felt all the color drained from his face. He tried to stand up to get away and very quickly realized that he could not. A sharp, hot pain suddenly began radiating through his left hand.

"Oh, I don't think so. You are staying right here." the fortune teller growled.

Eric looked in horror as he realized what the source of the pain was: a razor sharp knife pinning his hand to the table.

"What the hell, you crazed psycho bitch?!" he screamed.

The fortune teller just grinned and nodded towards the back corner by the tent entrance. Eric started to turn his head to see what she was gesturing at, but he had no time to react to it. A black gloved hand with a rag appeared and completely covered his nose and mouth.

Struggling and kicking to get away from the deranged woman, he let out a muffled scream of "You mother fucking b-."

It was cut off by Eric feeling dizzy and nodding off. It was a chloroform laced cloth that had been placed over his face, for the fortune teller had more sinister plans.

"Good job, Chancey." the fortune teller said.

The owner of the black gloved hand slowly looked up with a maniacal grin. She also had on clown makeup similar to Tiffany's and her dark brown hair was held in pigtails by yellow ponytail holders.

"Thank you so much, Rosemary. I do try my best."

Both women let out maniacal laughs, proud of their plan working out perfectly. Rosemary proceeded to reach across her table and smack Eric across his face. He did not move an inch or reach to the force of her hand.

"Yes, he's out. The chloroform was a great idea." she said.

"What can I say? I only think of the best." Chance said in return.

"Speaking of that…"

Rosemary turned around and pulled open the tent's back curtain. Waiting behind it were two muscular men, one with a Hannibal Lecter type mask on his face.

"Eddie! Tiny! We're ready!"

The masked man walked up to Rosemary and gently stroked her cheek. Rosemary returned the favor by running her fingers through his hair.

"Yes, Eddie. You are gorgeous. Now get this asshole out of here and over to the stage. Jack's waiting." she hissed angrily.

Both women looked on as Eddie and Tiny lifted an unconscious Eric out of his chair and carried him out of the tent. It was time to put on a show their audience would never forget. 


End file.
